WHAT’S IN A NAME?
What’s in a name? Do you know what your name means? Does
the name define the person, or does the person give meaning to the name?
I
researched my name this week. I have long known that my name, Darryl, means
“beloved one,” or so I thought. It was interesting to discover that “Darryl” as
a name for babies found its height of popularity in the late 1960s, which makes
sense since I was born in 1968. I also discovered that “Darryl” is derived from
“Darrell” (misspelling) and comes from an English surname derived from the
Norman French d’Airelle. This denotes someone who comes from Airelle in France.
So much for “beloved one.”
The most
famous “Darryl” was Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leafs. So much for
famous Darryls.
I
researched “Sharon” a little bit too, and found that for a brief period it was
used as a boy’s name. Like I said, I think the person gives meaning to the
name, more than the other way around.
When I think of “Sharon,” well….
You know
the name “Jesus” means “the Lord saves.” Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua or
Y’shua (Aramaic). But you also know that there were hundreds, maybe thousands,
of Jewish boys who were named “Jesus.” It was a popular name.
What
makes the name “Jesus” stand out? What is it about the name of Jesus that
inspires faith? What is it about the name of Jesus that can heal the crippled
man in last week’s text? It is not the name on its own, but the person who
bears that name. The person of Jesus, the man from Nazareth, the Son of God,
gives meaning and power to the name “Jesus.”
Now the
question is: Do we believe in this name, Jesus Christ, and all that it
represents? Today’s text asks this very question. What do we, as followers of
Jesus Christ, believe about this name? And I must be honest and vulnerable here;
I have a lot to learn about having faith in this name, so I don’t pretend to
have all the answers.
Why are you surprised?
Just as Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
provided an opportunity for Peter to preach, so also did the healing of the
lame man in the temple courts. People came rushing up; they were astonished.
Peter
asks a penetrating question, “Why does this surprise you?” Jesus had spent
three years in Galilee and Judea healing hundreds of people, raising some from
the dead, and casting out demons. Why are the people surprised that this man
was healed in the name of this Jesus? Peter and John had said to this man, “In
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (3:6). Why would a healing be so
strange?
The
sub-question is equally challenging: Why do you think that it is our power, or
our piety that healed this man?
The
question is important for us today. Why are we surprised at healing in the name
of Jesus? Or better yet, why do we feel cynical or skeptical when we hear of
someone being healed? A Facebook friend who was said to be dying of cancer
recently posted that he has been healed. His paralyzed legs now move, and the
lump on his neck has decreased. Instead of celebrating, some of us have doubts.
So
Peter’s question hits us head-on: Why are you surprised that a man was healed
in the name of Jesus?
You rejected the NAME
Peter goes on to lay four indictments on the audience
gathered before him in Solomon’s Colonnade. First he explains that, “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the
God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus” (13a). C.S. Lewis said
that every sermon in Acts makes mention of the resurrection, it was that
important to the gospel proclamation.
Then
Peter lays the guilt on the people. He says:
YOU
handed him over to be killed…
YOU
disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
YOU
disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to
you.
YOU
killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead.
From a
sales perspective, guilt doesn’t sell. If Peter was trying to win converts to
Christ, why lay a guilt trip on the people? Who would respond in our day and
age to a message that made you feel like dirt? People spend thousands of
dollars and hours of time going to therapists to overcome guilt.
But if
the guilt fits…As in Peter’s Pentecost sermon, it was important to remind
people that they rejected Jesus. Even if they didn’t yell “Crucify him,” they
didn’t yell “Don’t!” Peter knew this better than anyone, since he denied Jesus
three times. Every person who does not accept Jesus rejects him. That’s okay,
because that’s where we all start.
I
believe Peter’s intention here has to do with the name of Christ. He
emphatically makes it clear that everyone rejected Jesus to his death. He does
this to make a startling contrast. You disowned him; you killed him; you
rejected the name of Jesus. But look at the power that is in this name; look at
how God glorified this name.
There is power in the NAME
Peter provides the answer to his own question. If you are
surprised by this healing, consider the name of Jesus. He says, “In the name of Jesus, this man whom you see
and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through
him that has completely healed him, as you can all see” (3:16).
We could
ask a lot of questions regarding faith. Is it our faith in the name of Jesus
that heals? Is it the faith of the one healing? Or the faith of the one being
healed? Peter focuses on two things in his response: first, the name of Jesus
is powerful and effective; second, this man was healed through faith that comes
through Jesus. Faith in Jesus plays a significant role in this healing. You
will remember that Jesus could perform very few miracles in his hometown
because of a lack of faith (Mk. 6:5). But for those who believe in the name of
Jesus, healing was a reality.
Peter
uses numerous titles that apply to Jesus that are summed up in the phrase “the
name of Jesus.” Jesus’ name stands for everything that he is and does. In verse
13, Peter refers to Jesus as the Servant, a reference to the Suffering Servant
of Isaiah 52:13-53:12, where the prophet predicts that the Servant would be
“pierced for our transgressions.”
Jesus is
also called “the Holy and Righteous One” (3:14). He was without sin and
therefore could offer himself as a substitute for sinners as a perfect Lamb.
When Jesus confronted a man possessed by an evil spirit, the spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of
Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of
God!” (Mk. 1:24). Jesus was like no other man in that there was no sin in
him.
Peter
then refers to Jesus as the “author of life” or the “pioneer of life” (3:15).
Jesus is the originator of life and the author of our salvation (Heb. 12:2)
which ensures eternal life. Jesus himself declared that he is the life (John
14:6), so that if you have Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you can know life
now, not just in the life to come. True life is known through living for Jesus.
Title is
stacked upon title to make the point: the name of Jesus is like no other. There
is power in that name. In fact, Peter and John will say “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under
heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (4:12). That’s exclusive.
There is no other name which can set the captives free from the chains of sin;
there is no other name through which we can come to the Father in heaven (Jn.
14:6); there is no other name that reveals the Father God, the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. Period!
Please
note that the healing has become a secondary subject in Peter’s message. The
centrality of Christ was his concern. The healing was a stage for the real crux
of the matter – the continued proclamation and glorification of Jesus Christ.
Don’t focus on the healing but on the One who can heal.
Pardon my ignorance
I have a catchphrase when I am new to a committee and
unsure of how things work: “Pardon my ignorance, but …” Ignorance can be a
wonderful excuse for not knowing any better. I just didn’t know. I was not
aware. People will excuse a certain measure of ignorance if it is genuine.
Peter
makes this concession to his audience, “I
know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders…” (3:17). This
concession refers back to the four indictments: You handed him over to be
killed; you disowned him before Pilate; you disowned the Holy and Righteous
One; you killed the author of life. You didn’t know any better. Even Jesus
said, “Father forgive them, for they do
not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:34).
There is
a lot of grace in Peter’s concession. Peter attributed the sinful actions of
his audience to ignorance. But where there was ignorance there was also guilt
and grace. We must be gracious with ignorance concerning the name of Christ.
Many are darkened in their understanding of Jesus through ignorance:
Paul
said, “They are darkened in their
understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that
is in them due to the hardening of their hearts” (Eph 4:18). I admit that I
wince when I hear someone use the name of Jesus as an expletive. If someone
yells “Jesus Christ” when they hammer their thumb, or whatever, I hurt inside.
But then I concede that they don’t know him, or they’re praying…awkwardly.
Paul
himself noted that ignorance was his motivation in persecuting the believers: “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a
persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance
and unbelief” (1 Tim. 1:13). Ignorance is simply blindness to the truth of
Jesus Christ. Some people just don’t get it. And the only reason we do is due
to grace and the Holy Spirit.
Peter
holds out grace to those in darkness because Jesus is gracious. “He (Jesus) is able to deal gently with
those are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to
weakness” (Heb. 5:2).
So there
is pardon for ignorance.
Repent and believe in the NAME
But now that you know that you have ignored the name and
the truth has been revealed to you, you cannot remain under the cover of
ignorance. A response is required. Faith!
Following
the Pentecost sermon, the audience was cut to the heart and they wondered what
they were to do with this Jesus. Peter said then, “Repent and be baptized…so that your sins may be forgiven…And you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (2:38). Similarly, Peter gives a
challenge in this sermon, “Repent, then,
and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing
may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah…” (3:19-20). The
challenge is almost identical.
Turning
from this ignorance, the hearer is to turn then to the name of Jesus and
believe. The healing of the lame man is a token of the greater prize, the
healing of the broken spirit, the estranged man or woman separated from God now
gaining access to God, and the forgiveness of sins. Peter says those sins will
be wiped, or blotted, out. Ancient writing was done on papyrus and the ink had
no acid in it. This ink did not bite into the paper like our modern pens but
simply lay on top of the papyrus. To erase the writing, the scribe would merely
use a wet cloth to wipe it away. So God wipes out the sins of the person who
takes seriously by faith the name of Jesus Christ.
The Holy
Spirit comes into the heart of the believer and, as Peter now illustrates this
presence, times of refreshing (peace, relief, joy) come to the believer.
Putting
one’s faith in the name of Jesus comes with an ongoing mandate. As Peter
reminded the Israelites, Moses had promised that a prophet like himself would
come to the Jews one day. This ancient promise was fulfilled in Jesus, Peter
says. And he further reminded them of Moses’ words: “you must listen to everything he tells you” (3:22). Again we have
that exclusivity that marks the Christian faith. We do not need to listen to
other leaders, teachers or religious people from other faiths, but we do need
to listen to Jesus. When you believe in the name of Jesus Christ, there is no
other name that has the power to change your life like his name.
So if this name, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, is like no
other, what is our response? Do we trust this name? Do we put our faith in this
name? Do we believe what the Scriptures tell us about this name?
I cannot
claim ignorance. I know the truth of the Gospels. Yet I find myself among those
who are skeptical, cynical, and dubious, when it comes to healing and miracles.
I am confessing to you that my faith is not what I would like it to be in
regards to such things. As the father who brought his son to Jesus cried, “I do
believe. Lord, help my unbelief!”
If we
claim to have faith in the name of Jesus Christ, there is more at stake than
healing and miracles. If we claim to have faith in this name then, as Peter reminds
us, we must listen to Jesus. We read our Bibles, do our devotions, and nod our
heads. But do we act in faith? Can we trust our injustices to the judgment of
Christ, that he hears our prayers and knows our sorrows, and will make all
things new and right? As we struggle with “chronic” sins and confess yet again
that we have failed to remain pure, can you trust the name of Jesus that you
are forgiven and he is working through the Holy Spirit to free you from your
chains?
In
short, you know the truth, but have you put your total faith in the sweet name
of Jesus, so that your life and actions are completely submitted to his grace?
Salvation
is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men
by which we must be saved!
AMEN
Some men called Him Rabbi, good teacher, nothing more
The Son of just a carpenter who taught along the shore
Some men called Him Master, Elijah come again
Some left their nets to follow Him to learn to fish for
men
Some say He's Messiah, I Am, who's always been
The Baptist called Him Lamb of God who takes away our sin
What's in a name that the demons flee
What's in a name that the captives go free
What's in a name that every knee should bow
In the name of Jesus, name above all names
There is power and glory, forever and ever
Forever and ever
Some said Son of David returning to His throne
Some said He's the Son of Man with origin unknown
And one said He's the Son of God, the Rock on which we
stand
The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end
No other name can sound so sweet
No other name is so complete
No other name can bring release
The Mighty God, the Prince of Peace
(Petra – “What’s in a name”)
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